


Flavour and Sound

by RussianSunflower3



Series: Sunflower's Seijou week [5]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aobajousai bake sale, Gen, HOH! Iwaizumi, Pillar, Seijou Week, hard of hearing character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-17
Updated: 2016-03-17
Packaged: 2018-05-27 06:00:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6272611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RussianSunflower3/pseuds/RussianSunflower3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the aftermath of losing to Karasuno, Iwaizumi's hearing aids are broken.</p>
<p>To surprise him, the team work together to raise money for some new <em>customized</em> ones.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 'How to fix your broke Pillar'

A pillar, in simple terms, has three definitions.

The first is; A firm upright support for a superstructure.  
The second is; A usually ornamental column or shaft, especially one standing alone for a monument.  
The third is; A supporting, integral, upstanding member or part of a society.

Oikawa managed to find that all that from the internet last week when he realised how amazing his best friend was. Now, however, the rest of the team (minus one) crowded around him. As he swatted them away to get space to breath, he typed a strange search into the Google Japan search bar.

_How to fix your broken pillar._ His head hit the desk when all that came up was DIY and reconstruction projects. Behind him, there were synchronised groans of exasperation. 

“Oikawa-Senpai, as much as I appreciate how much he _means_ to you, please type something **sensible** into the search engine!” Yahaba squeezed past Matsukawa and Kindaichi, coming to stand by Oikawa’s side and taking control of the keyboard. He muttered under his breath as he tapped in the keys, scrolling through the first few results until he clicked a link.

“This looks promising.” Matsukawa grabbed the back of Oikawa’s computer chair and wheeled him to the side so that Yahaba could kneel in front of the computer screen and take proper control. Kunimi looked up from his GameCube at the back of the group.

“Is it good quality for quantity though? Even together, we don’t have much.” A sigh escaped their second year setter, a frown tugging at his face.

“It’s probably the best quality we can get, but it’s still a little pricey. We’d have to ask for pocket money in advance, or donations.” 

“Why not do a fundraiser?” Kyoutani’s gruff exclamation almost went unheard, but Watari echoed it and there was a moment to pause. Hanamaki folded his arms as he thought carefully.

“Like, set up a booth and ask people to pay for a chance to compete at something? Arm-wrestling would be good...”

“A kissing booth!” Glares were set upon Oikawa, courtesy of Kunimi, Kyoutani, and Matsukawa. 

“We- We could just do a bake sale? Those are pretty popular.” 

“Actually, Kindaichi, that’s not a bad idea!” His hair was ruffled and the first year nervously grinned. 

“Can anyone other than Yahaba actually bake though?” Watari proudly stuck his hand in the air, followed by Kindaichi’s half-hearted hand and Kunimi lazily interjecting. With a little shuffle, Kyoutani grunted and flicked his hand up quickly. Oikawa raised both arms before Matsukawa and Hanamaki wrestled them down by his side. The last time Oikawa had baked, or rather, tried to bake; they had cleaned the entire kitchen for just over an hour.

“So, basically all our underclassmen bake.”

“I think Yuda does too, I can text him later.”

“Nice, Makki~! Then I’ll ask Sawauchi and Shido!” Matsukawa nodded in agreement with the plan and put his hands in his pockets.

“I’ll ask the coaches to get permission for us to host the stand. We’ll have to advertise it somehow, but we can’t let Iwaizumi find out.”

“Word of mouth, Mattsun, is more effective than you think~. And luckily, I have just the fanbase we can spread it through.” They spent a good half an hour discussing their plans and organising the bake sale. It was decided that Oikawa would spread news of it through his fanbase, large enough to infiltrate the whole school. If they could, it would take place in the hallway under the staircase, where students from all year groups had to pass to get outside. 

Yahaba, Kindaichi, Kyoutani, and Watari were to bake the things to sell, whilst Kunimi instructed Matsukawa and Hanamaki on decorating. They would come up with the pricing on the day, basing it on the quality and size of the cakes. With that in mind, the team slowly dispersed until Oikawa’s bedroom was empty once more, the boy downstairs to eat with his family.

In the darkness of the room, the laptop screen glowed blue-white with the open browser and the website added to Oikawa’s favourite’s lists. He named all his ‘favourite’ links, and this one was entitled _‘Custom hearing aids for Iwa-chan!!!’_


	2. The backstory, or, how we got into this situation.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A very short explanation as to why Seijou must host a bake sale.

Seijou had lost the Spring preliminaries. The last chance that the third years had was gone. No more tournaments, no more competitions, no more matches... The mood in the changing rooms afterwards had been depressing to the point of having their hearts crushed, but they fought hard not to cry. The first one to break had been their Ace. He was furious at himself for not getting the last spike, for being unable to score their life-saving point. He blamed himself entirely.

“GOD _DAMMIT_!!!!” His fist impacted the wall, cracking the plaster beneath his knuckles. 

“Iwa-chan, stop! Stop...” Oikawa had grabbed his wrist and attempted to stop him, but that only resulted in Iwaizumi whirling on him in fury. Somebody would have probably ended up getting hit, if Iwaizumi hadn’t tripped backwards over his own feet. The closest to him in proximity, Kindaichi and Matsukawa, lunged to catch him, but they were milliseconds too late as he slammed backwards against the wall he had punched with a choke of pain.

“Holy shit, did you hit your head?!”

“Senpai, are you okay?!” Various concerned statements followed, but Iwaizumi just looked at them in confusion for a second and then raised his hands.

“Slow down a second. I can’t read your lips when you babble. I think my hearing aids fell out...” The team froze. If Iwaizumi’s tiny, almost invisible hearing aids were on the floor somewhere, even the slightest movement could crush them under foot. Matsukawa sighed and switched to sign language.

_‘Stay still. It has to be around here somewhere.’_ Iwaizumi nodded. He could ‘hear’ the team talking in low tones as they slowly moved to pat the floor around their feet, just in case the hearing aids had skidded off when they landed. It was like being constantly submerged in water, with his hearing fading in certain areas. Often, he would have to spin his head to try and make out the murky mumbles. It took practice, especially as he hadn’t been born with this condition. His hearing had only started fading in the second year of Kitagawa, so he hadn’t fully adjusted to not being able to hear people clearly. Half the time, if he didn’t have his hearing aids in, he was guessing. 

“Think... over... is it?” The occasional word of what he was able to make out wasn’t much help, nor was trying to read everyone’s lips as they kept looking away from him or speaking too fast. He perked up when he saw Kindaichi pick one of the lost hearing aids off the ground, holding it up and asking Oikawa if that was it. The setter beamed before taking it to fix back in Iwaizumi’s ear. Truthfully, he was capable of doing that himself, but his arms felt like lead after the match and their loss had sapped the energy from him. So he let Oikawa do it. He expected the crackle of his hearing aid coming to life, a high pitched ringing, and then a small lapse of silence before he could hear again.

“... Oikawa, did you switch it on?” Oikawa tilted his head to this side, but his lips were moving far too fast for Iwaizumi to read.

“Oi. Oi! _Kusokawa!_ I can’t hear you, dumbass!” The loud shout, Iwaizumi unaware of his current volume, caught the attention of the coach who waited outside for the boys to be done changing. Mizoguchi sung open the door and stepped in, an audible crunch under his foot

“I heard shouting. What’s going on?” Horrified faces met his question, no-one knowing quite what to say until Kunimi managed to splutter it out.

“I- I think we broke one of Iwaizumi-Senpai’s hearing aids... And you just found the other one.”


	3. The sweet process of baking.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our bakers get baking!  
> And Kyoutani is surprisingly cute?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please Google image search Namagashi before this chapter, they are _adorable._

Kindaichi yawned before dragging himself out of bed as his alarm went off, crossing the room to press the snooze button. If the clock had been any close to the bed, he would have slunk back into it. Which was exactly why the device was on the opposite side of the room. The numbers on the front glowed green, stating it was 4am. He groaned.

“Yuutaro, what are you doing awake?” His mother, an early riser due to her work, poked her head around his doorframe. It took Kindaichi a good three seconds to register that she was talking to him and he was standing in his room in Naruto pyjama pants. The realisation was like a bubble popping.

“I- I have to get ready! Stop looking, mum!” She giggled at her son’s nervous behaviour, ducking back out of the room and disappearing for a mere 25 seconds before coming back to throw clean clothes at him. 

“I suppose we can eat breakfast together for once~. Hurry up, Yuu-chan~.” The promise of a warm breakfast for once, especially with his hard-working mother whom barely had time to spare, instantly boosted his mood. Kindaichi changed into his clean uniform, disregarding his hair for later, when he wasn’t busy. He took the stairs three at a time, dodging the book that had been left halfway down.

“So riddle me this, what _are_ you doing up early?” He took his place at the table, politely clapping his hands together with a soft ‘Itaidakimasu’ before scooping up his first mouthful of rice. It tasted so much better when it was freshly cooked instead of coming out the fridge!

“Gotta bake. We’re having a bake sale today, to raise money for one of our Senpai.”

“A class thing?”

“Club thing. He needs a new hearing aid set, so we’re gonna get a custom one.” His mother wiped away a fake tear with a sniffle and a cheesy smile.

“My son, so sweet and selfless. I’m proud of you, Yuu-chan~. And even more glad that you’re in an excellent club. They’re a good influence on you!” He scowled, remembering back to his middle school days when he’d been a lot more aggravated and snappy, both at school and home. It had been worst in the third year, and entering Aobajousai had been like a breath of fresh air that completely revitalized him. 

“Yeah. Yeah, they are. They’re so amazing, mum. It feels like a real team, a second family.” Gently, Kindaichi’s mother reached across the table and placed a hand against his cheek, an apology in her eyes.

“I’m glad you’ve found people like them, who can give you the family you need~...”

“Mum...”

“No, it’s okay. I know I’m barely around, but... You know what? Work sucks! I’m calling in sick today and we’re gonna bake your cake, right here, right now~!” Kindaichi couldn’t help but laugh as his mother struck a pose of determination, one foot up on the chair she had previously been sitting on and both arms in the air like she was displaying her biceps.

“Fine, fine! You can help! We have to make a _lot_ of cupcakes.”

In the Yahaba household, despite it being only 4am, whole baked cakes built up in their containers on the table, a myriad of different colours and flavours, each with an elegant pink label, the type of cake written on it in gold. Victoria sponge, giant macaroon, Spanish flan, checkerboard cake, and even a chocolate raspberry cake. Yahaba didn’t do little cakes, he went _big_ , the kind that were moist and sticky, softer in the centre than the edges. His phone buzzed with a text and he smiled lightly.

From: Kyoutani  
_image attached _

He wiped his flour covered hand over his apron, before clicking on the ‘show image’ selection. His lips twitched up at the pictures Kyoutani had sent him of the Namagashi he had made. Flowers, cats, butterflies, and leaves of all different _adorable_ styles, in pastel colours filled his screen. The mad dog must have been proud of his work, seeing as this was the fourth picture in an hour. Somewhere along the line, Oikawa had decided that selling **just** cake wasn’t enough. He’d turned to Matsukawa to make green tea, and Kyoutani had insisted on making Namagashi to go along with it, because apparently it was _offensive_ not to. Why he found the absence of a sweet more offensive than his own behaviour, Yahaba would never know.

To: Kyoutani  
_Nobody will ever believe YOU made those_

From Kyoutani  
_Why the fuck not?_

To: Kyoutani  
_Are you serious? Look at them. Then back at you. Namagashi are adorable. You’re an asshole._

From: Kyoutani  
_Fuck you. You’re the asshole.  
Besides, you didn’t say I WASN’T adorable._

Yahaba snorted with laughter before freezing in fright, listening for any reaction in the sleeping house. His parents thought he had gone to bed 6 hours ago, and if he woke any of his four younger sisters, they would tattle on him for sure. Honestly, he was surprised he had gotten away with oven continuously baking and the clatter of making the mixture. He was currently pouring the last batch out into multiple cake tins, adding colourings to each one and stirring it in. A rainbow cake with the flavours that matched the colour of each layer, it would be his greatest masterpiece. 

“Nii-chan...?” A sleepy yawn distracted him for a second and he spun around to see his youngest sibling standing in the doorway sleepily rubbing at his eyes. Thank goodness it was his four year old brother and not one of the tattletale girls. He put the mixing bowl aside with a small smile and crouched down with open arms for his sleepy brother to toddle into. Shifting the four old to sit in one of his arms, he went back to stirring the mixture awkwardly.

“What’s up, Kato?” 

“Hungry.”

“Ah? Well, why don’t you be my official taste-tester, hmm?” Kato’s eyes widened and sparkled as he nodded, his brunette fringe flopping over his eyes. Yahaba softly laughed and brushed it aside before reaching over to the mini-cupcakes that came from each batch. It was critical to test the sponge each time. He fumbled to break one in half, holding it up in the palm of his hand. Kato took the bigger half and looked at Yahaba for permission.

“Ready? Three... Two... One.” They ate the pieces in synchronisation and both smiled brightly at each other.

“It’s good, Nii-san!” Yahaba was about to reply when his phone buzzed once more. He sighed, but it didn’t stop the slight tug at the corner of his lips. He checked the preview message first, tilted so Kato couldn’t see if there was any explicit language.

_ Image from Kyoutani  _

Sliding it open, Yahaba was pleased to see a picture that filled the screen with paw-print shaped Namagashi in varying colours. He turned the screen so that Kato could see and heard the whisper of awe followed by little hands wrapping around his phone to look at the picture closer.

“Nii-chan, the white and blue one is super pretty.”

“You want me to bring it home tomorrow for you?” A squeaky sound of glee escaped Kato as he nodded, shyly hiding his face behind his blanket. Yahaba laughed quietly with him and held the phone out at arm’s length. 

“Let’s send a picture back, yeah?” 

“Wait! Nii-chan, you have to send yummies!” Yahaba placed his phone down for a second to grab another mini-cupcake, splitting it like the first one.

“I need to take the photo, Kato. This means you’re going to have to feed me my bit~.”

“Don’t bite my fingers, ‘kay?” Kato took the cake pieces, one in each hand. Yahaba picked up his phone and set it to reverse camera, holding it far enough away to get the two of them in from waist up. 

“Say aah~.”

“Aah~.” Kato ate his own piece whilst holding out Yahaba’s piece just enough for the second year to get. He sent the picture to Kyoutani, followed by Kato’s request for the white and blue paw print. In the back of his mind, Yahaba feared Kyoutani would say no, and then he’d be left with a four year old throwing a tantrum. Or more accurately, a meltdown. Kato didn’t scream and flail like most children his age, he would sulk and cry and curl up into a little ball. His heart almost leapt into his throat when the reply came through.

From: Kyoutani  
_Sure, I’ll wrap it in a little gift box. He’s really cute. Looks a little like you._

And Yahaba felt himself metaphorically falling, his chest swelling and a dorky grin coming to his face which he tried to prevent by biting onto his bottom lip. It was no use, he was absolutely smitten by this asshole with a bad attitude. 

Hours later, Kunimi managed to somehow drag himself from bed a _whole 20 minutes_ early. Those precious minutes almost lulled him back to bed, but there was no escape from responsibility. With a soft groan, he sagged down the stairs like his legs were about to give way and his whole body was going to slump across the floor just to get a few extra minutes. Then again, he could just sleep over lunch- No, no he couldn’t. He had to help manage the stall at lunch. A gargled groan escaped him as he slumped over the kitchen table, pressing his forehead against the cool wood.

“Well, this is a nice surprise. I usually have to drag you out by the ankles.” Kunimi grunted in response to his dad, reading through a newspaper at the opposite end of the table. His mother laughed from the kitchen counter, serving up a gooey egg omelette for Kunimi to slowly eat through, barely lifting his head from the table and lethargic in his motions. He only looked up properly when his dad’s chair scraped against the floor, the business man in his suit folding up the paper and placing back down on the table.

“Well, I’m off. Good luck with your bake sale, Akira!”

“Mhm. Good luck with your actual sales, dad.” The man laughed before receiving a kiss from his wife and exiting cheerfully. The corners of Kunimi’s lips turned up. He wasn’t sure how he ended up so lazy when his father seemed to have boundless drive and motivation. Even his mother, who was timid and sweet, never seemed to stop moving.

“Don’t you need to get ready, Akira?”

“Mhm... Yeah, I’m going.” He pushed himself from the table with a yawn, feeling a little more awake as he headed back up the stairs. A quick shower, quick change into uniform, and a quick call to let Kindaichi know he was on the way. Kunimi jogged down the stairs with his usual enthusiasm, picking up a bag he had prepared last night with all manners of decorative items inside. He’d crafted buttercream flowers, fondant sheets, and sugar sculptures. A giant tub of buttercream weighed it down, but it was necessary for dirty icing the cake, or for a cake that didn’t suit fondant. He always had wafer decorations, and little edible figures that he had guiltily purchased from a shop on the way home, that could brighten up and beautify any cake. Most importantly, a pack of paintbrushes and liquid food colouring, along with liquid food glitter. Just to add that extra presentation sparkle to any ordinary cake.

“Shit... Fruit!” He sped up as he took a slight side-tour, heading down the street where he _knew_ market was taking place that morning. Amongst the fish stalls, meat stalls, and vegetables, he managed to find the fruit market stall, sighing in relief. He could have just gone into the konbini, but this was the best way to get the freshest fruit available. 

“Two apples, three bananas, 800g of green grapes, 400g red grapes, 500g strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries please.” The stall manager weighed out the items to Kunimi’s requirements, passing them over in a small green bag as Kunimi payed. It was a good thing he had brought along money just in case. Bowing politely in thanks, he started on his way again, only pausing when he realised he recognised the voices coming around the corner.

“Iwa-chan, we should slow down!”

“Why? And speak slower, I barely understood that.” Kunimi pressed his back flat against the closest wall, hoping they would walk straight past without noticing. If Oikawa didn’t see him first and distract Iwaizumi, there was no doubt the Ace would detect him. He was hard of hearing, not blind. 

“Because... Umm... Well...”

“... Your lips are moving weirdly. Say something proper, Kusokawa.”

“Rude, Iwa-chan. I was just saying that... That it’s a really nice day! So we should go through the park and-.” Oikawa cut himself off with a horrified look as he spotted Kunimi pressed against the wall, bags held up in front of his chest as if that was going to hide him. He quickly shook his head and made a motion to distract Iwaizumi, but he wasn’t stupid. As soon as Oikawa’s facial started to change, he whipped his head around with a sharp glare, immediately on the defensive because of how _terrified_ Oikawa had looked in that split second. He truly was Oikawa’s pillar, launching into protective mode the instant something appeared to threaten him in the slightest. His facial expression instantly softened when he saw Kunimi, blossoming into a handsome smile.

“Kunimi, what are you doing over there?”

“Just- Just chilling.”

“Come closer, I can’t see what you’re saying.” Swallowing down a gulp in his throat, Kunimi walked over like he was being forced to walk towards a guillotine. 

“That looks heavy.” Iwaizumi extended a hand out towards the bag and Kunimi managed to whisper a hoarse ‘thank you’ as he passed over the one with all the fruit. Whatever happened, he could _not_ be the reason Iwaizumi found out about the bake sale, and consequently, the fundraiser towards a new, **better** hearing aid set. Oikawa quickly leapt in before Iwaizumi could take the second bag, which had all the cake decoration ingredients in it.

“I’ll take that one! Gotta build up my upper arm strength for my serves!” It was a lame excuse, and there was no way Iwaizumi brought it, but thankfully he rolled his eyes and just ignored the extravagant behaviour. It wasn’t like he could hear the desperate tones in their voices, or Oikawa’s nervous, forced laugh. 

“Yeah, alright. Can we just get to practice now?” The trio started walking, Kunimi and Oikawa both suffering mini-heart attacks every time Iwaizumi’s eyes drifted to the bag in his hands, or Oikawa’s hands. Somehow, he made it to school alive. Irihata had pre-arranged with the canteen staff that they could store their food items in the walk-in fridge until lunch, so that was where Kunimi headed first. He almost bumped into Kyoutani, who was walking with Yahaba. 

“Watch where you’re going.”

“Sorry.” There was no sincerity in his voice, considering he was only apologising out of mild nervousness. Yahaba rolled his eyes as Kyoutani _snarled_ , and whacked him round the back of the head.

“Shut up. Don’t take your anger out on the kouhai.” Kyoutani huffed before putting his head down and walking off quickly. Yahaba watched him go with a huge, yawn, squeaking at the end of it.

“Sorry about that. We both stayed up making things _all night_ , so he’s snappy from tiredness.”

“Oh. Wait, all night?” Yahaba nodded and gestured to the red pull-along cart he had behind him, the cakes in their containers piled up like a pyramid. Kunimi wasn’t sure how he missed it. Maybe because the walk to school had left him frazzled?

“That’s... An awful lot of cakes.”

“I may have gotten carried away.” Yahaba grinned, a cheeky yet sheepish expression that put Kunimi at ease almost immediately. He hummed in thought and started walking alongside Yahaba in sleepy silence. Kyoutani had already deposited his items in the freezer, but waiting by leaning against the counter. He payed no attention to Kunimi, but visibly perked up when he looked at Yahaba.

“The Namagashi for your brother is on the second shelf, right at the back.”

“Right! Thanks, Kyoutani. He’s really looking forwards to it~.” Kyoutani stuffed his hands in his pocket and slouched off towards the gym before a blush could appear. Kunimi rolled his eyes and loaded up the decorative items in the corner of a shelf. Yahaba took up the rest of the shelf with all his cakes. 

“Well, we’ll have plenty to sell anyways. Now it’s all up to Oikawa to draw in the crowds.”


	4. Yahaba realises customers are stupid and vows to never work in retail.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BUBBLE FIGHT.

To say they had a long line was an understatement. The corridor was _packed_. Word of mouth had travelled around the school and the staff members that had volunteered to help out were having difficulty maintaining control of the queues.

Luckily, Oikawa’s many fans of all sizes, shapes, and genders, were complacent in listening to him as he walked back and forth alone the line, reminding people to wait their turn and be patient, reassuring them that there was enough for everyone, promoting the reason behind the bake sale, and making small talk to keep the crowd engaged. 

Being the most approachable of the club in a friendly way, Yahaba and Watari dealt with the customers and their requests. The financing, however, was left to Kunimi. Money would be exchanged from the customer, to with Yahaba or Watari, and then he would pass change back. It honestly would have been easier to cut out the middle man but he wasn’t confident with customer service at all. 

Matsukawa would have helped, if they hadn’t been receiving numerous orders for green tea with the adorable Namagashi. He grumbled under his breath and cursed Kyoutani’s sweets for being so damn enticing. He was assisted by Hanamaki, who had cleverly brought a pair of tongs that he was using to put the Namagashi in a little bag that was passed over with the green tea cups.

Finally, Kindaichi and Kyoutani were on decorating, adding last minute touches and slicing the cakes in roughly the same size and shape each time. Kindaichi’s cupcakes were displayed in a spiral stand, whilst they could only show a couple of Yahaba’s at a time. The menu on the front of their stall listed every single one though, and the team sent up a thankful prayer to Irihata. 

He’d used free time at break to gather a list of all their creation and create a simple yet elegant menu sheet printed off and laminated. Underneath the name of each cake, there was a small description followed by allergen advice. He had not been the only helping hands.

Mizoguchi had secured them a spot in this popular hallway and pulled favours with the theatre classes to burrow one of their prop market stands. It worked well enough. The Coach was now distracting Iwaizumi for the lunch period, preventing him from finding out about the bake sale fundraiser, under the guise of a ‘future careers’ meeting.

“Yahaba, we’re out of butterfly cupcakes, could you cross them off the menu please?”

“Of course.” He used a blue marker pen to cross off the item, completely blocking it out. He had been putting a neat line through them before, but some people kept ordering them even though they were _clearly_ crossed off and Yahaba came to the conclusion that he **never** wanted to work in any kind of retail, if people were this stupid on a day to day basis.

With only five minutes left of lunch, the crowd had thinned down to a single line of roughly 15 people, Oikawa still flitting between them and chatting with them rather personally. Still, it kept them waiting despite getting impatient, and by the looks on their faces as they walked off, biting into their bakeries or sipping at bitter tea after tasting sweet Namagashi, it had been worth the wait. With a deep sigh, Oikawa slumped over the front of the display.

“I’m beat! So many people... So much energy... I’m running looooow.” Yahaba rolled his eyes, but Watari laughed and reached behind him to tap Kindaichi on the arm.

“Do we have anything left over~?”

“Mhm! A slice of the macaroon, four chocolate cupcakes, and three vanilla cupcakes.” When Oikawa’s eyes lit up and he pat the table at the mention of chocolate cupcakes, Watari collected one and passed it over.

“For you efforts, Senpai!”

“Watachin, you’re my favourite.” There was no hesitation before the setter bit into it and moaned in delight. Being in the presence of hungry teenage boys who hadn’t had a chance to eat yet, the remaining products were quickly devoured.

“Kunimi-chan, did we make enough to get the secret thing~?” Brushing cake crumbs away from his lips with one hand, and counting yen notes with the other, Kunimi laid the last sheet of money down and turned back to the team with a serious expression. It almost seemed like he was about to deliver bad news, but then he smiled wildly.

“We have _more_ than enough.” They whooped with joy and high-fived each other just as the bell went for the start of next class.

“We’re late! My teacher is going to kill me!” From a few meters away, having come to check on the team and confirm the sales, Irihata huffed in amusement.

“Don’t worry; all of your teachers have been notified. You have this hour to get everything tidied up, and the stall put back in the theatre club storage.”

“Yes, Coach!” Snapping to work, they separated the duties as to get the job done quicker and more efficiently. That way, they’d be able to rejoin class, albeit a little late, and hopefully catch up on anything important. Washing up was assigned to Watari, Kunimi, Oikawa and Yahaba. Returning the heavy stand was best left to Hanamaki, Matsukawa, Kyoutani and Kindaichi.

Not just because of their strength, but also the ability to not drag the stall along the floor. Even if Kyoutani was second shortest, he had ample back muscles to lift it higher than any other member. Carrying the stall prevented them from talking much, except for when they had to put it down to flex their fingers from poor grip, or crick their backs. Chatter, however, was rife in the canteen kitchen.

“Will it definitely be okay though? Don’t they have to fit the hearing aids at the... Hearing aid place?”

“Iwa-chan always lets me come along when he has to get new ones fitted, so I know the _exact_ order. Plus, don’t tell Iwa-chan, but I have photocopies of all his _Real Ear_ data. I can attach them in an email to the company so the hearing aids will be made to his specification.”

“W-wow. That’s... A lot to process.” Oikawa smiled gently, tinged with sadness.

“It was really confusing at first. Especially to Iwa-chan, because he was the one diagnosed with hearing loss at the time. Whilst he was trying to deal with this new information _and_ his condition, I learnt everything I needed to. He’s my pillar, but I need to be his pillar too. Especially on the bad days, when it really upsets him.”

“Oikawa-Senpai... You’re actually a good person.” He whipped his head round to Yahaba with a comical expression of betrayal.

“What do you mean _actually_?! I’m always a good person!” His statement was completely contradicted by scooping up a handful of bubbles and blowing them at Yahaba to coat his hair and uniform. The four burst into laughter and ended up ‘washing’ each other more than the equipment they’d used.

Moments later, they’d been bowing apologetically to Irihata in soaking wet uniforms and flushed cheeks, fighting back sniggers and giggles as they were lectured about appropriate behaviour in the kitchen, acting their age and _“honestly, I can’t even trust you lot with **bubbles** ”_, and that was it. They were laughing all over again because only their coach would ever be able to say bubbles angrily.

Irihata watched them losing their self-control with his hands on his hips, slowly shaking his head in mild amusement. He couldn’t stay mad at them for too long. They were only teenagers, doing an amazing thing for their friend, deserving these few minutes of hyperactive lightheartedness. 

“Alright, alright. I see you’re finished, so go and get into a dry change of clothes, then return to lesson.” They quickly dispersed, heading to their classes. Oikawa couldn’t help but pause by the door of Iwaizumi’s class, sneaking a look through the window. 

Iwaizumi’s seat was in the front row so it was easier for him to read the teachers lips when there was background noise, or like this difficult period in time, when he didn’t have his hearing aids in. His face was scrunched up in concentration, eyes narrowed as he focused on what the teacher was trying to say. His eyes deviated to his page to take notes, and Oikawa bit his lip in sympathy when Iwaizumi looked up again and suddenly appeared confused and lost, the teacher having moved on and cleaned the board whilst he had been writing. His brow furrowed in frustration and then carried on with what he could.

Oikawa knew there would be large gaps in his notes, which he’d fill in with the help of other classmates once the lesson was over. Inevitably, he’d be a few minutes late for practice, but Oikawa could definitely forgive his vice-captain these coming days. It would break Iwaizumi’s heart to assign anyone else vice-captain, even temporarily, so Oikawa vowed that he would just work harder and be the best captain he could be.

It wouldn’t be as much fun as his normal routine of having fun and poking cheer whilst intensely practicing what _wanted_ , completely focused on his own skills, but he would be filling in the supportive, mentoring role that Iwaizumi played.

“Oi, aren’t you in class yet?” Oikawa ducked out of sight of the door when he heard Matsukawa’s voice right behind him, Hanamaki sniggering from behind. They’d have to walk pass Iwaizumi’s classroom to get back to their own, so seeing Oikawa loitering past his own classroom wasn’t much of a surprise. The setter huffed and folded his arms.

“I was just checking on Iwa-chan.” Matsukawa and Hanamaki shared a look before Hanamaki propped one hand on his hip with his head slightly tilted.

“He’s a big boy, Oikawa. He can take care of himself.”

“Yeah, but-”

“No buts. This is going to affect him for the rest of his life. If you keep metaphorically wrapping him in a blanket for the time being, University is going to be a massive shock. He needs to adjust on his own.” Biting his lips, Oikawa cast a concerned glance over his shoulder, through the glass in the doorway again. The person next to Iwaizumi held his workbook at an angle for Iwaizumi to see and copy down the information, filling in the gaps he had previously left in his work. Oikawa felt a smile tug at his lips where they had previously been drawn into a frown.

No matter what, his pillar always stood tall, sometimes cracking but never crumbling.


	5. The gift of giving.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heavy thoughts catch up to Iwaizumi in quiet moments.
> 
> Good thing the team have the perfect way to cheer him up.

It had been three days since their fundraiser. The hearing aids were supposed to arrive today, ordered with first class priority delivery. Oikawa had been distracted all practice, eager to run all the way home. He wasn’t the only one. The entire club were going to come to Oikawa’s house, set up a surprise party, and then Oikawa would invite Iwaizumi over. They would present his new hearing aids at the party. Neither of the coaches had missed the ecstatic mood and bubbling anticipation. They would have to be stupid to. Mizoguchi leaned over towards Irihata with the clipboard held up to block his lips from view, just in case Iwaizumi looked over.

“Do you think we should end practice early this once? I doubt they’ll remain focused until the end. Kindaichi already looks like he’s about to give it away.” Without meaning to, the first year had the hugest smile on, threatening to turn into a grin every time he looked towards Iwaizumi. He was pretty much bouncing on his toes in excitement, so full of enthusiasm that he could probably burst into a ramble of exhilaration at any given moment. Irihata chuckled under his breath.

“Perhaps. The question is if Iwaizumi would get suspicious though. So far, we’ve planned this well, but he’s a clever boy.”

“Good point. What kind of cover could we use?” He glanced back over to the spontaneous game that had broken out, Yahaba playing setter one side and Oikawa on the other. From Yahaba’s side of the court, Matsukawa signed Iwaizumi with various shit-talking insults, to which the Ace was responding furiously, if only it wasn’t the bright grin on his lips giving him away. He paused in the middle of retorting to powerfully spike a ball in his direction. 

“I suppose we could create an extremely challenging practice for tomorrow morning. Send them home early to get the appropriate amount of rest before that.” Mizoguchi nodded, pulling a pencil out from behind his ear and jotting down on his clipboard, a sadistic, almost torturous practice schedule. He smirked at the Spartan regiment before passing it over to Irihata who read through carefully.

“Harsh. Very harsh, Sadayuki. This definitely hits the criteria. Gather round!” The last part of his statement was directed to the team, who paused in their impromptu game to give each other confused looks and then collectively group around the coaches.

“Tomorrow, we have a particularly ruthless training regimen. For this reason, I want you all to go home and get rest. Make sure you cool off properly, do your stretches, and don’t let yourselves get too cold. Eat a good meal, because you certainly won’t want breakfast before _this_ tomorrow.” He passed the clipboard over to Oikawa whose face absolutely dropped in pure horror. Iwaizumi read over his shoulder with a thoughtful look.

“Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to do this _after_ school, rather than morning practice?” The coaches exchanged a wary glance. Whilst Iwaizumi was still looking through the schedule, Kunimi spoke quietly enough that their Ace wouldn’t catch onto the low murmurs.

“First years have diagnostic testing this week. You could say that we won’t be here for the afternoon practice.” Hanamaki clapped Kunimi on the back in praise, and Irihata sighed in relief as Mizoguchi parroted the news as soon as Iwaizumi looked back up. His face was twisted in confusion, having been unable to recognise a few words. Being the only one on their team that knew sign language, other than Iwaizumi, Matsukawa tapped him on the shoulder. He shaped out the sentence in a blur of hand motions to which Iwaizumi nodded.

“That makes sense. Alright, let’s get this cleared away then.”

“Geh! Iwa-chan, _I’m_ supposed to be the captain!”

“Can’t hear you, Kusokawa.”

“You’re looking directly at my lips!” Iwaizumi smirked, arms folded.

“Can’t hear you, Kusokawa~.” Oikawa clocked on and pouted before turning around and heading over to the net to dismantle it. Iwaizumi’s handsome laugh put the team at ease as they all went to do their duties in cleaning up. Kindaichi was visibly the most excited, a skip in his step as he swept the floor and whistled a merry tune. 

Kunimi listened in and huffed when Kindaichi paused on a super high note, his face scrunching up and lips pursed as he tried and failed to hit it over again. Kyoutani visibly sniggered before he executed the whistle perfectly. Both first years looked at him in pure shock, highly impressed. He returned to his usual scowling expression.

“What?”

“How did you get that high?” Kyoutani shrugged.

“I have dogs. They’re all trained to respond to a different pitch.” Oikawa came over with a face like the cat-who-got-the-cream, lowly laughing like a 90’s anime girl. (Kindaichi would never confess to watching things like that.)

“I _knew_ you’d be the type of person to have dogs, Kyo~Ken~Chan~.” Kyoutani growled at him and Oikawa backed away with a shiver. Before he could say anything, possibly getting him into more trouble, Iwaizumi grabbed the back of his collar casually as he passed and dragged him away.

“Come on, we have to lock up and get home before it rains.” His speech was slightly too loud than usual, and the words came out a little slurred. Oikawa frowned. Going too long without hearing, Iwaizumi was finding it harder to shape words they way they sounded to a hearing person. His speech would never be completely distorted, because he knew the shape his mouth had to form for certain sounds and syllables. That was slightly comforting, but Oikawa still lamented over how he _knew_ Iwaizumi would beat himself up over the slow failing of his enunciation. He was self-punishing like that.

“Iwa-chan!” Shouted right next to Iwaizumi’s ear, he heard it with a soft wince at the proximity.

“What?”

“I have important stuff to do at home! Can you lock up tonight?”

“Ah... Yeah, sure... What stuff?”

“Mum has a delivery due; I need to be there to sign for it.” Iwaizumi nodded as he released Oikawa’s collar, turning back to face forward. 

“Alright. Make sure you text me when you get home safely.” Because Iwaizumi couldn’t read his lips, Oikawa settled for the next best thing – which was undeniably the best thing ever – and hugged him quickly from behind. Just a single tight squeeze that he poured all his gratitude into. Then, he turned on foot and jogged out the gymnasium to grab his stuff from the clubroom. Back to Iwaizumi, he missed the softened facial expression and admiring smile that was directed at his back. Hanamaki didn’t. He gave Iwaizumi a thumbs up, making the Ace blush heavily at being seen and directing his gaze to the floor. 

“Lovestruck. He’s so lovestruck.” Yahaba muttered it to Watari, having witnessed the entire spectacle. The libero laughed heartily, pausing to lean on the mop in his hands.

“By now, the mutual pining has become part of their characters. It wouldn’t be the same if they weren’t... Y’know. Iwaizumi _and_ Oikawa. One without the other just doesn’t sound right.”

“That’s the wisest thing you’ve ever said, Watari.” Watari nudged Yahaba with his shoulder, leading to a full on battle where they each increased their strength in time before Yahaba squawked as he was pushed into Matsukawa. The third year caught him with a smirk.

“Nice to see you falling for me.” He was elbowed in the chest as Yahaba stood.

“Ha-ha, very funny, Senpai.” Matsukawa leaned in closer, wriggling his thick eyebrows with a devious grin.

“Or is there someone you’ve already fallen for, hmm~?” Completely unconsciously, Yahaba’s eyes flickered over to Kyoutani, but Matsukawa didn’t miss it, following the side-eye. He chuckled as he stood back up to full height and pat Yahaba on the back encouragingly.

“Good luck~.” Yahaba groaned, _sensing_ Watari holding back laughter at his plight. 

“Isn’t it time to get going already?” He’d only been looking for a distraction when he said that, but then everyone simultaneously looked at the clock and internally swore. Oikawa had been gone ten minutes, and the official lock-up time was in 2. They had to get going and far enough in their journey that Iwaizumi wouldn’t catch up with them! Mizoguchi picked up on their panic and checked around to see where Iwaizumi was. His back was just disappearing into the equipment cupboard, the number 4 facing the main hall.

“Everybody go! Quickly! We’ll provide cover!” Obeying their coach without question or hesitation, they dropped everything where they stood and _bolted_. Iwaizumi was none the wiser as he put the net away on its shelf and dragged the poles to their place in the corner where nobody would trip over them. His first inkling that something was wrong, was when he caught glimpse of an abandoned mop just outside the equipment cupboard door. 

Frowning in concern, he walked over and his eyes widened and jaw dropped when he saw that he was the only team member left, and there was a mess in place of his teammates. A movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. Mizoguchi waved his arms to get Iwaizumi’s attention and then signalled him over.

“What’s going on, Coach?” Irihata cleared his throat, making sure Iwaizumi was looking directly at him.

“They broke into a ‘swordfight’ with the cleaning items so we sent them home before anyone got hurt. Are you still okay to lock up?” Iwaizumi cast a sweeping gaze over the discarded items with a heavy sigh. 

“They could have at least put them away, but... Yeah, I’ll lock up.” He was rewarded with a thankful pat on the back before Irihata lifted himself from the bench and took his leave. As a teacher, he still had to check the classrooms under his authority and make sure no students had lingered past club time without official registration. 

Iwaizumi started to collect the abandoned brooms and mops, noticing Mizoguchi clearing away the stray balls out of the corner of his eye. Even though there was dead silence, Iwaizumi didn’t mind. He was used to silence. Sometimes, he missed the noise, but silence gave a certain feeling of peace that nothing else did. It was like sitting in a cool bubble of water whilst everyone else ran around in a blaze of fire. 

He did miss an awful lot though. It wasn’t so bad with his hearing aid in, but he couldn’t listen to music through headphones and sometimes things like TV and radio provided static or a shrill piercing squeal. He found himself preferring to watch movies in silence with the subtitles on, which meant no more epic soundtracks, no more Kaiju roaring, or fight scenes with the general atmosphere like he was _there_. 

If they were watching anything over the internet in class, he had to turn his hearing aids off and rely on the crude CC option, which frequently got things drastically wrong. Everyone in the class had burst out laughing so loud he felt it at _“I have giant yen for dong”_ , but Iwaizumi had honestly wanted to cry because he _knew_ that wasn’t the translation, but there were no lips to read so he didn’t know what it had actually said. 

He was missing vital things that he desperately needed to know to get the grades he wanted. And these past three days without access to his hearing aids had been even more difficult. It felt isolating. Crushing. _Distressing_.

He jolted up when a hand pressed against his back and started rubbing in circles. Bewildered, his eyes met Mizoguchi’s, the younger Coach frowning in concern. He didn’t speak, but put a finger on his cheek and dragged it down from his eye to his chin. Clearly, he meant a tear. Iwaizumi blinked and reached up, touching his face. 

“... Oh...” There was water dripping down his face and he slowly rubbed his arm over it to clear the evidence, despite Mizoguchi having already seen. The hand never deviated from his back until he shrugged it off. 

“I’m okay. Just some heavy thoughts.” The coach sighed.

“Go home, Iwaizumi. I’ll finish up here, but you’re clearly not in the mood to have to pick up after everyone else.”

“... Yes, Coach.” Iwaizumi pulled away before any more words could be said, carrying the items he had already collected to where they should be stored. He almost threw them into their corner, frustrated with his own _weakness_. Not the fact that he had let it get to him, but the fact that he was letting his lack of hearing **control** him. 

He was growing more dependent on others. He wasn’t enjoying things as much as he used to. He couldn’t even watch Godzilla without wishing he could hear it. All that ran around his mind, day in and day out, was _“I wish I wasn’t broken.”_ It had been a reoccurring thought since third year middle school when a transfer student had said it to him casually at break, but it was more prominent than ever and starting to defeat him. 

The pillar was beginning to crumble. 

Iwaizumi made it to the changing rooms and was halfway through slowly buttoning up his shirt when he saw his phone light up and start moving across the bench on vibrate mode. He swept it up in his grip, desperate for a distraction. A swift flick of his thumb opened the message from Oikawa.

From: That Dumbass.  
_Iwa-chan! Come straight to mine! That’s a captain’s order! ”_

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, typing back a text with one thumb as he finished buttoning up his shirt in the other.

To: That Dumbass.  
_I’m still at school. Can you wait twenty minutes?_

All he got in reply was a dumb selfies, Oikawa winking with his tongue stuck out, peace sign in front of his cheek. Iwaizumi couldn’t help but snicker though. That was a message to take his time, but not too long. Why Oikawa couldn’t just use words, he didn’t know, but their understanding went beyond words. Thankfully. 

If they didn’t understand each other’s tiny gestures and slightest facial expressions, Iwaizumi would have had a much harder time when was first told that his hearing was slowly vanishing. It was already difficult enough on its own. With a sigh that carried the weight of the world, he slung his bag over his shoulder and stuffed his hands in his pockets to make his journey home.

He wished he could hear the birds in the trees. He wished he could hear the purr of the cat that he stopped to stroke at some stage, feeling it vibrate under his hand. He wished he could hear the shout of people telling him to get out the way as they cycled past. He wished he could hear the basketball game the local kids were playing in a fenced area. He wished he could hear _volleyball_. 

Even with his hearing aids in and turned on, there was too much background noise for him to efficiently pick up on the sounds of the ball being spiked, the thud of a receive, the slapping of skin when teammates high-fived. It was a jumble of the audience cheering and his own heart pounding, interrupted with static or waves of high-pitched squealing. 

Sometimes, it became unbearable enough that he would switch his hearing aids off until the time outs and breaks. It was easy to cover it up by pretending that he was just rubbing his neck or scratching the shell of his ear. Opposing teams would never guess.

“OW!” He had barely made it to Oikawa’s front door when Oikawa himself had burst out and flung his full weight at Iwaizumi, knocking them both to the ground.

“You _actual asshole_ , I-!” He paused, because in the doorway there was suddenly his friends and teammates looking down at them and laughing as Iwaizumi blushed when Oikawa nuzzled into his hair. Hanamaki sprung forth and extended a hand to help Iwaizumi up when Oikawa rolled off him and jumped up, looking so ecstatic, aliens may have landed in his back garden.

“...Am I missing something?” From the doorway, Matsukawa smirked and held his hands up at chest height.

_‘Come inside and find out.’_ He huffed and stuffed his hands in his pockets once more and followed the others in suspiciously. Whilst he kicked his shoes off, the team vanished into the living room area. He put his bag down and slowly entered, eyes widening. 

_‘Surprise!’_ He read the same word on everyone’s lips, a sense of happiness almost overwhelming him as he looked at the wrapped up package in Oikawa’s hands, extended towards him.

“This is... For me?”

“No, Iwa-chan. It’s for the aliens.” He couldn’t hear the sarcasm, but he didn’t need to when he could see the biting tone written all over Oikawa’s posture, from the jut of his hip to the flat palm of his hand and roll of his beautiful brown eyes. 

“Shut up.” He took the present with a gentleness that contradicted his snappy sentence. The team bustled around him in a semi-circle, excitedly watching as he pulled the ribbon off and carefully plucked away the cellotape in just the right way that it fell open in his hands. A loud gasp escaped him when he recognised the logo on the box.

“A-Amplify? You ordered me _hearing aids?_ Oh- oh my god. Oh my **god**! You guys are the best!" He opened it quickly and once more, his eyes were watering. But this time, it was tears of joy.

In the box, not only was there a pair of clear, almost-invisible earbuds, but also a pair of hearing aids that hooked over the back of the ear. On the sky blue frame, there were three tiny grey Godzilla’s. With a shaking hand, Iwaizumi reached in and pulled one of them out. He inspected it with wobbling smile, threatening to turn into a grin.

“Hold this.” He passed the open box to Kindaichi whilst he fitted the first over ear hearing aid in, and then the second. Taking a deep breath, he switched them on. There was a crackle, a high-pitched ringing, and then silence. Softly, he took a deep breath in.

“It’s on.” He could hear his own voice! He could hear it! The sudden change in his expression, lighting up like a child on Christmas, let the others know that they worked perfectly.

“Iwaizumi, that’s great!”

“You can hear all of us~?!”

“IWA-CHAN~!” He laughed as he was enveloped in a team hug from all sides, embraced by the people that cared for him like family, and warmed by their love. 

Iwaizumi might have been Oikawa’s pillar, but Seijou was the pillar for him.


End file.
